Sunday, February 8, 2015

Liebster Award!

I am thrilled to share that Straight to the Hips, Baby,
has been nominated for a Liebster Award by the very kind & talented
Alexandra from Occasionally Eggs! Thank you! The Liebster Award is an
effort to bring attention to smaller blogs from
fellow bloggers. This is a fantastic opportunity for newer blogs to
get some notice, especially in a sea of more established food bloggers.

Rules:

-Link back to the person who nominated you

-Answer all the questions they asked in their post

-Nominate eleven more blogs you like

-Ask eleven questions for your nominees to answer

-Let all your nominees know either through their blog or social
media

Alexandra had some very entertaining questions and I had a blast
answering them! I hope this gives you a better idea of who I am and what my
blog is about. At the bottom of this post, you will find the fantastic bloggers
I have personally nominated for the award. All of them have delicious recipes
and beautiful photographs to share. Cheers!

1)Who
is your favorite artist? Why? I am a huge art deco fan, and really love
anything by Gustav Klimt. The way he mixes colors with geometric/architectural
forms and complex themes just draws me in!

2)If you could go into space, which planet
would you visit, and why? You're going to laugh at me, but before poor
Pluto was downgraded, that was my favorite planet (love you anyway, Neil
deGrasse Tyson!)! I always thought it would be a cool place to explore, because
when I was a kid, that was pretty much as far out as we had explored.

3)How did you come up with the name of your
blog? Ummm, have you seen my blog? Some of my recipes would shock your
Fitbit! Truthfully, one night while gathered around the dinner table, I was
tossing around the idea of starting a food blog. My husband & little
brother were having fun suggesting title ideas centering around my love of
decadent cooking, and my brother blurted out, 'Straight to the Hips'. I added
the 'Baby' at the end for flair!

4)What's your dream kitchen like? This
is a tough one. My home kitchen is pretty darn close, space-wise. Lots of
counter space, granite, lovely detailed cabinetry. We lucked out. Buuuuuut.....
I would love to cook on a professional-grade gas range (like a big Wolf
6-burner). I daydream and design my
imaginary kitchen around that beauty!

5)If you had to choose one thing to eat
every day, what would it be? If we are talking about just an ingredient,
totally fresh sun ripened tomatoes, with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil.
If it's a dish, probably a fantastic Indian Saag Paneer.

7)What's your go-to cookbook? The
classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child. Along with
Martin Yan & Jaques Pepin, she was my childhood inspiration to get into
more complex cooking. PBS Broadcasting, I owe you!

8)Which genre of music/artist do you always
end up listening to? When my kids are around, It's always Cookie Monster (C
is for cookie, that's good enough for me...). If it's just me, I run the gamut.
Classical from my ballet career days, teenage flashbacks to Alanis Morrisette,
or driving to Red Hot Chili Peppers. Usually, a combo of Neil Young, Tom Petty,
and U2.

9)How do you come up with recipes for your
blog? My "view" for the blog is to make approachable (but still
sophisticated!) food that any home cook can prepare. I feel that all of the
recipes on my site can be made by a cook of any caliber, and it makes me proud
when I get an email from a novice cook who tried my recipe and surprised
themselves! That's one of the reasons you see so many directional photographs
and detailed instructions on my blog. I believe in eating seasonally as much as
possible, so a lot of my recipes reflect that. Also, I try to coordinate my
blog posts with my weekly/monthly menu, because it's a reflection of what I'm
making in real life. Big holiday dinner coming up? I'll tend to lean on family
recipes or tweaked classics. Everyday meals are pretty much inspired by what I
can find at the market and any recent tasty dishes I've had at restaurants.

11)What's
the best thing you've ever made? Or, the best thing you've ever posted on you
blog? The best thing I've ever made/posted for drinks, is my Cucumber
Jalapeño Margarita. I would have one every day if I could! For
food, my Peach Shortcake with Honeyed Whipped Cream. Goodness, if I could get
away with eating that all day and not bust out of my pants, I would!

12) Bonus question... What is your favorite primate? The
Orangutan. I could watch them for hours. They are so graceful when they're
swinging in the trees, and show so much tenderness towards their young. I once
went to the Washington DC Zoo, and sat for an hour, just studying the face
& movements of an older male orangutan.

Although I'm not entirely sure of the number of followers each of
these bloggers have, you need to check them out! These are a few of my
favorites, and some newly discovered (to me) bloggers. They are entertaining,
informative, and influence my own work. In no particular order...

Find me

About Me

Hi!
My name is Jessie and I am an avid cook, recipe hoarder, and child wrangler. I love to find new and creative recipes to try as well as to introduce my arsenal of tried & true dishes to my family and friends. From small plates to big holiday dinners, you'll find a little bit of everything here!